MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Several shootings occurred over the weekend in Miami Gardens, with another coming Monday night.
Local 10 News asked the city’s chief of police about the increase in violence.
“It’s not alarming, but it is concerning,” said Miami Gardens Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt.
Five shootings.
One claimed the life of 13-year-old George Harris Jr., who was reportedly shot in the back of the head while at home with friends Saturday night, playing with a gun.
Earlier that same day, the chilling sight of a yellow tarp covering a body outside a Raceway gas station located near Northwest 207th Street and 27th Avenue.
Then, about a mile away, detectives responded to a home where it’s believed another shooting occurred. One man was left in critical condition.
The two shootings may be connected.
“We’re still pending the information as far as those two investigations,” said Noel-Pratt.
Then, another apparent shooting incident on Sunday in being investigated by police.
In a city where many of the officers are from the area, a relationship with the community is key, Noel-Pratt said.
“The law enforcement personnel are out there, they’re fluid out there, they’re making sure they safeguard the community,” said Noel-Pratt. “This community is very, very important to us. We consider the residents VIPs to us.”
Monday evening, at approximately 8:34 p.m., police said they responded to the 3700 block of Northwest 181st Street in reference to a man who had been shot.
Officers said they found a man who had been shot multiple times to his “upper body.” He was rushed by helicopter to an area hospital, but authorities did not provide an update on his health status.
Police said they did not have any information on any possible suspects or persons of interest as of late Monday night.